I begin with a story. Bishop James Baker died in 1969, having lived to be ninety. In all of his years – and even in his last years – he had a zest for life. Even though he was too blind to read during those last years, volunteer readers kept him up on current events. His mind was agile and alert. He had a keen perception and a way of getting at the heart of things – probing their meaning with clear insight. He was the bishop of the Methodist Church who was responsible for founding the Wesley Foundation Movement in United Methodism.

There were many glowing tributes to him at his memorial service. The one that came nearest of summarizing the soul of this great man was a word spoken by Bishop Marvin Stewart. Stewart told of how his son, Rob, a graduate student at the School of Theology in Cl…